First and Last Name/s of Presenters

Participation Type

Title of Poster or Paper

Mentor/s

Professors Colleen Butler-Sweet and Amanda Moras

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Location

University Commons

Start Day/Time

4-20-2018 1:00 PM

End Day/Time

4-20-2018 3:00 PM

Abstract

It has been nearly two decades since Bell Hooks argued that “Feminism in the United States has never emerged from the women who are most victimized by sexist oppression; women who are daily beaten down, mentally, physically, and spiritually- women who are powerless to change their condition in life” (Hooks, 2000). Her critique of the feminist movement which had been almost entirely lead by White women in it’s first and second waves helped inspire the intersectional emphasis of the feminist movement of today. Based on in-depth, semi-structured interviews with five White and five Black women between the ages of eighteen and thirty five, this study explores White and Black women’s perceptions of the most recent third wave of the feminist movement. While the initial hypothesis of the study was that Black women would have a more negative outlook on the feminist movement, findings indicate that young White and Black women in this study both have equally negative attitudes towards the feminist movement, but for different reasons. Black respondents were more likely to cite the oppression, denial and segregation that Black women have historically faced within the feminism, reflecting an intersectional critique of the movement. White women, on the other hand, appeared to engage in dimensions of the patriarchal bargain where they were more likely to be critical feminism in an effort to gain leverage with the men in their lives.

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It has been nearly two decades since Bell Hooks argued that “Feminism in the United States has never emerged from the women who are most victimized by sexist oppression; women who are daily beaten down, mentally, physically, and spiritually- women who are powerless to change their condition in life” (Hooks, 2000). Her critique of the feminist movement which had been almost entirely lead by White women in it’s first and second waves helped inspire the intersectional emphasis of the feminist movement of today. Based on in-depth, semi-structured interviews with five White and five Black women between the ages of eighteen and thirty five, this study explores White and Black women’s perceptions of the most recent third wave of the feminist movement. While the initial hypothesis of the study was that Black women would have a more negative outlook on the feminist movement, findings indicate that young White and Black women in this study both have equally negative attitudes towards the feminist movement, but for different reasons. Black respondents were more likely to cite the oppression, denial and segregation that Black women have historically faced within the feminism, reflecting an intersectional critique of the movement. White women, on the other hand, appeared to engage in dimensions of the patriarchal bargain where they were more likely to be critical feminism in an effort to gain leverage with the men in their lives.

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